Name: ______________________________ Period: ___________ Date: _______________
1.2 The Mystery of the Poisonous Newts
Activity #1: Do NOW K-W-L Chart
K= Know: W = Want to learn: L= Learned:
2 things I already know about 2 questions I have about 2 things I learned about natural
natural selection, variation are... natural selection, variation selection,variation from the
are... Variation video are...
1.__________________________ 1.________________________ 1.___________________________
____________________________ _________________________ _____________________________
____________________________ ________________________ _____________________________
2.__________________________ 2.________________________ 2.___________________________
____________________________ _________________________ _____________________________
____________________________ ________________________ ____________________________
PAIR-SHARE Question: (Using Level 2 voices, discuss with your partner)
[Link] thing I learned/found interesting from this video was...
Activity #2: Making Observations B
elow is an image of a rain forest in Ecuador. The
frogs (also pictured below) live there and are all the same species, a type of dart frog. Observe the
frogs closely and describe them below.
1
Name: ______________________________ Period: ___________ Date: _______________
Population:
Activity #3: M
ystery of Poisonous Newts Video
Your mission: You will solve a mystery about a specific population of rough-skinned newts. As you
watch the video, what has happened to the newts over time?
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
Unit Question:
2
Name: ______________________________ Period: ___________ Date: _______________
Activity #4: Observing Traits
Investigation Question:
Teacher model
Picture 1 Write 3 observations about this butterfly
(color, size, wing, shape etc.)
● ___________________________________
__________________________________
● ___________________________________
__________________________________
● ___________________________________
__________________________________
Partner Practice and Pair-Share
1. Look at your butterfly image and that of your partner.
As best as you can, draw Write 3 observations about Now look at your partner’s
your butterfly:
your butterfly (color, size, wing, butterfly.
shape etc.) 1. What is similar between your
butterfly and your partner’s butterfly?
● _____________________
____________________________
_____________________
____________________________
____________________
____________________________
● _____________________
___________________________
_____________________
2. What is different between your
____________________
butterfly and your partner’s butterfly?
● _____________________
____________________________
_____________________
____________________________
____________________
____________________________
___________________________
3
Name: ______________________________ Period: ___________ Date: _______________
Feature: Trait:
Activity #5: Butterfly Population
1. Feature
2. Traits
Short Answer: In 3-5 complete sentences, describe this population of butterflies.
● Include the words: population, feature and trait in your response. Highlight them in your
answer.
● Are all the individual butterflies in the population the same?
● What are some similarities between them?
● What are some differences?
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
4
Name: ______________________________ Period: ___________ Date: _______________
1.2 Independent Tasks
Activity #6: Read It! “The Rough Skinned Newt”
The Rough Skinned Newts may not appear dangerous. CATCH Annotate CFS
A description of newts: they are no longer than 20 ❏ Highlight one keypoint from
centimeters (8 inches), with stubby legs and teeth that each paragraph.
look like tiny bumps. Rough-skinned newts have ❏ Circle 1-2 unknown/vocab
brown, bumpy skin on their backs, with bright orange words from each paragraph
skin on their belliesHowever, some of these newts are ❏ Ask 1 question OR make 1
the most poisonous animals in the Pacific Northwest. connection
One rough skinned newt can have enough poison in its ❏ Answer Thinking Questions
body to kill dozens of humans!
1. From the first paragraph, describe
When threatened by predators, newts curl their bodies what the newts look like.
to show the orange undersides of their necks and _______________________________
tails. The orange color warns predators to stay away,
_______________________________
and most predators do. The only predators that
regularly eat rough skinned newts are common ______________________________
garter snakes. 2. What do the newts do when they are
threatened by predators?
Newts hatch in the water, but they spend most of
_______________________________
their lives on land, often hiding under fallen leaves or
bark. At night, they hunt for insects, tiny fish, and _______________________________
other small prey. When they are ready to mate, _______________________________
rough-skinned newts return to the water, where
_______________________________
males and females swim together in pairs.
The females lay poisonous eggs and 3. Where do newts spend most of their
attach them to underwater plants. lives?
_______________________________
Other Poisonous Organisms. Being
poisonous is an adaptive trait for many _______________________________
different organisms, not just rough-skinned _______________________________
newts. There are many poisonous plants, [Link] do the newts hunt?
such as deadly nightshade, hemlock, and
_______________________________
mint. You might be surprised to see mint
on this list, since you’ve probably eaten _______________________________
mint yourself! The poisons in mint are harmless to humans, ______________________________
but deadly to some plant-eating insects. These poisons are
[Link] an example of a poisonous
what give mint its minty taste and smell—they are warning
plant. Why are these plants poisonous?
signals telling insects to stay away. Like rough-skinned
_______________________________
newts, poisonous plants are poisonous as a defense against
_______________________________
being eaten. Plants can’t run away from animals that want to
_____________________________
eat them, so they have to defend themselves in other
ways—with adaptive traits like tough bark, sharp thorns, and
being poisonous.
5
Name: ______________________________ Period: ___________ Date: _______________
Activity #7: N atural Selection Simulation 1
5 MIN.
Directions:
1. Go to Darwin and Natural Selection
2. Click on “Learn About Natural Selection”
3. Fill in the blanks below as you complete the simulation
Part 1: Every _____________ exhibits __________________.
Not all members within a _______________ are exactly the _____________.
What variations can individuals exhibit?
__________________________________________________
Part 2: Many _______________ are passed from parents to their _________________.
Part 3: Life in the wild is __________________, and organisms with the most beneficial
______________ will prosper (succeed and reproduce). This is known as
“_______________________________________.”
If an organism has traits that help it survive or attract mates, what will it be able to do?
_______________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
Eventually, ______________________ traits can spread throughout a species.
_________________________________________________________________________________________
Activity #8: S urvival Game: Who wants to live a million years? 15 MIN.
Directions:
1. Go to Darwin and Natural Selection
2. Click on “Play Survival Game”
a. This game is not easy so I would be sure to look at the hints. Also, when the game
starts be sure to pay attention to the environment, the years that have gone by, and
what hints Darwin gives you.
b. Finally, there is one part of the game called the “Life Preserver.” This is not accurate
as far as evolution is concerned, but will help you win the game. Note: It is difficult to
win but not impossible.
3. As you play the game, answer the questions on the next page:
6
Name: ______________________________ Period: ___________ Date: _______________
1. Notice that there is initially a lot of variation
(different traits) in the population. What are some
variations (different traits) that you see? Draw them or
describe them here:
2. Now choose your population on the computer. Draw the 3 variations you selected:
3. Describe what happened in this game. What happened to your population of animals? What
factors/predators/food sources became available?
4. If your animals died (which they probably did ), why did they die?
5. Play the game again. How long could you keep your animals alive?
6. Why did some animals die, while others lived and thrived?
8. Now go to Quiz take the Natural Selection Quiz! What was your score? ________________
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Name: ______________________________ Period: ___________ Date: _______________
Activity #9: Exit Ticket
1. Based on today’s lesson, how would you describe the traits Explain in 5 sentences why you
of this horse population? (check one) selected this answer:
__________________________
__________________________
__________________________
__________________________
__________________________
__________________________
__________________________
__________________________
__________________________
❏ All of the horses have the same traits because they are in the
same population. __________________________
❏ This population has different traits for color: some are brown,
some are black, some are gray, and some are white. __________________________
❏ None of the horses in this population have similar traits __________________________
because they are all individuals.
❏ The horses in this population are all the same because they __________________________
all have a coat, a mane, and a tail. __________________________
❏ These horses must not be a population because they have
different traits. __________________________
__________________________
Activity #10: Finish all parts from Packet 1.1 Goal Setting and Natural Selection Pre
Assessment ( packet from Wednesday)
Done early?: Work on an Achieve Article/iReady/DreamBox/Moby Max
